Two Ohio State freshmen — defensive lineman Dylan Thompson and linebacker Kyle Berger — likely will sit out the season after suffering knee injuries in the past few days, a team spokesman confirmed yesterday.

Although the nature of the injuries weren’t specified by OSU, it is believed Thompson has a fractured knee cap.

The spokesman did say that Thompson will not require surgery.

***

>> Seriously? You're following all those Twitter accounts but not @buckeyextra? Go ahead and move to Michigan while you're at it.

***

Berger used Twitter to announce Monday afternoon that he had suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. It’s the same knee he injured a year ago in a preseason scrimmage at Cleveland St. Ignatius, which caused him to miss his senior season. He is expected to have surgery next week.

On Friday, No.1 running back Ezekiel Elliott suffered a cracked bone in his left wrist.

The sophomore underwent surgery on Saturday to stabilize the break with a pin. He could return to practice by late in the week, coach Urban Meyer said.

Stepping away

Reserve receiver Frank Epitropoulos of Upper Arlington has elected to step away from football to concentrate on his pre-med studies. After redshirting in 2012, Epitropoulos played in four games last year, and had one catch.

“I love being an Ohio State Buckeye,” the third-year sophomore said through the team spokesman. “But I am also competing to get into medical school, and that is very important to me and to my family. I am already in my third year at Ohio State and the process to begin applying to medical schools is not far off. After consulting with my family, I have therefore decided to end my athletic career so I can focus solely on academics.

“I want to thank my teammates and coaching staff for all of their help and suport, and I wish them the best this season and into the future.”

Recruit in the fold?

It has become customary to see a “BOOM” tweet from OSU director of player personnel Mark Pantoni soon after a prospect commits to the Buckeyes.

But there was no “BOOM” late Monday night or yesterday after defensive back Carlton Davis of Miami committed to the 2015 recruiting class.

That’s probably because Davis said he intends to take official visits to at least South Carolina and the University of Miami, which were part of his top three. Davis is considered a “soft verbal” by recruiting analysts, and evidently also by OSU coaches.

“I think Davis’ announcement is a good start towards him becoming a Buckeye, but it’s a long way from over,” Bucknuts analyst Bill Kurelic said.